Find: My love for gadgets is purely physical

One of the rubber feet on my old MacBook got scuffed shortly after I bought it. For a long time, I fretted about reducing the laptop’s resale value and spoiling its precise, perfectionist aesthetic, but now that I’m using a new machine, I miss that stupid scuff so dearly. I wasn’t aware of it then, but I’d developed a habit of fingering the fissure when anxiously waiting to cover a live event or new product launch. It was my little bit of tactile reassurance that I had the equipment needed for my job, which my new Haswell MacBook, though faster and longer-lasting, just can’t provide. Unless I decide to personalize it by spoiling it just a little.